Following the presidential election, eight states passed marijuana legalization laws, giving the legalization movement the required momentum for more states across the country to carry out discussions on decriminalization of cannabis in 2017.

DelawareState officials are expected to discuss the use of recreational legalization of cannabis in early 2017. Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, during a Medical Marijuana Act Oversight Committee meeting in October 2016, said: “It’s time to certainly look at it.”

The state lawmaker has pledged to introduce a bill legalizing the adult use of cannabis. A recent poll done by the University of Delaware shows that 61% of residents surveyed support legalization.

The senator is responsible for drafting the state’s medical cannabis bill and Delaware’s Democratic Governor-elect John Carney also supports the decriminalization of marijuana in his state.

Last year, Delaware decriminalized cannabis, which means that those who are caught with small amounts of the drug are only given a civil fine instead of a criminal offense. The Legislature also has eased some penalties for drug possession.

Rhode IslandMassachusetts, Rhode Island’s neighboring state just recently legalized cannabis for adults over 21 and Rhode Island is expected to follow in its footsteps with the legalization of cannabis in 2017.

Rhode Island Governor Raimondo said that they are looking into the legalization of marijuana.

Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio, who was one of the high-ranking cosponsors of last year’s cannabis legalization bill believes that, with the right regulations, the Assembly will decide to pass a legalization bill.

A recent editorial written by Sen. Josh Miller and Rep. Scott Slater, tells residents of Rhode Island the primary reasons for cannabis legalization and its benefits:

“To be clear, new jobs and tax revenue are not our primary motivations. Improving public health and safety by replacing an illicit market with a responsibly regulated legal market is our goal. In a regulated market, consumers know what they are getting and do not have to worry about dangerous pesticide levels or laced products. Workers in a regulated marijuana economy are not vulnerable to exploitation and have protections like Social Security and unemployment insurance. Communities also benefit from sales being moved from the streets into a regulated market made up of legitimate tax-paying businesses – not gangs and cartels.”

New JerseyDespite Governor Chris Christie being opposed to cannabis legalization, lawmakers are ready to explore the possibility. In 2016, bills to tax and regulate marijuana were introduced in the New Jersey Assembly by both Democrat and Republican lawmakers. Stephen Sweeney, the Senate President, declared that lawmakers intend to pass a legalization bill as soon as Gov. Chris Christie leaves office.

58% of New Jerseyans support replacing prohibition with regulation according to a 2015 poll, and Gov. Christie’s approval ratings are at a near-record low of 19%.

After visiting Colorado in October to see what the impact of marijuana legalization has been like, Sen. Nicholas Scutari, who was a part of the delegation, expects a vote in 2017.

TexasTexas is making decriminalization a priority in 2017. State officials are looking into reducing charges for possession by adopting a model that fines people $250 without giving them a criminal record.

Five cannabis related items are on the table for the 85th Session. State Senator José Rodríguez and state Representatives Moody, Dutton and White have all sponsored legislation this session making it easier to use cannabis and lessen penalties if a person is caught.

Texas passed the Compassionate Use Act last year, which was intended to allow access to low-THC cannabis for those with intractable epilepsy. Already in 2017, Senator Menédez already pre-filed SB 269, a comprehensive medical cannabis bill. This bill would make several improvements, including fixing a fatal flaw in the bill, allowing cannabis with any amount of THC, and expanding the law to include other qualifying conditions.

KentuckyKentucky State Senator Perry Clark has pre-filed a bill for the 2017 legislative season almost one year after filing the Cannabis Freedom Act. This legislature pertains to legalizing cannabis in the state.

Filed in December 2016 for the January, 2017, legislative season, the new bill is called the Cannabis Compassion Act and it is filed as BR 409. Little has changed between the wording of the proposed laws of 2015, 2016, and the new 2017 Cannabis Freedom Act.

With the recent elections, some candidates have been replaced. This could mean that the newcomers are more receptive to cannabis legalization than their predecessors.

New MexicoRep. Bill McCamley believes that the state could use cannabis legalization as a way to resolve New Mexico’s $600 million deficit and, according to a poll conducted by the Albuquerque Journal in October, 61% of voters in New Mexico support the recreational use of cannabis.

With the newly-elected Democratic majority in both the New Mexico House and Senate, proponents of recreational cannabis predict several proposed bills will be discussed on the floor in the legislature at the next general session in early 2017.

Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, also believes legalizing recreational cannabis could bring new money into the state, while also stopping those who make purchases from the cartel. Yet his approach differs from McCamley’s. Ortiz y Pino wants to send the question directly to New Mexico voters.

State Sen. Cisco McSorley has pre-filled a Hemp measure for the upcoming legislative session in 2017, Senate Bill 6 to provide for the establishment of the New Mexico industrial hemp research and development fund.

The home state of Bernie Sanders almost passed adult-use legalization in 2016 and is expected to take the issue up again in 2017. In February 2016, the Vermont Senate voted 17-12 to pass S.B. 241, which would have allowed adults ages 21 and older to use cannabis and regulate a tax system for cannabis-based products. The measure failed in the House, but according to the Marijuana Policy Project, Vermont will reconsider legislation in 2017, encouraged by neighboring states like Massachusetts and Maine that passed cannabis legalization measures in 2016.

Researchers have found that the state could potentially make up to $75 million annually in taxes by regulating legal cannabis. This could convince Republican governor Phil Scott to support legalization. Vermont’s next legislative session is scheduled to open in January 2017, there will be a new House speaker and a new Senate leader.

MissouriTwo lawmakers in Missouri have filed proposals for the upcoming 2017 legislation to legalize medical cannabis and create a comprehensive statewide medical cannabis program. The two bills, Senate Bill 56, sponsored by Jason Holsman, and Senate Bill 153, sponsored by Rob Schaaf, were pre-filed in December 2016.

The passage of either of these bills could bring medical cannabis to Missouri. In 2014, Missouri lawmakers passed a limited medical cannabis bill allowing some patients with intractable epilepsy access to products containing marijuana extracts with THC amounts below 0.3%.

Polling results released in June found that 62% of Missouri voters supported the referendum, with only 27% opposed.

Ariana Marisolis a contributing staff writer for REALfarmacy.com. She is an avid nature enthusiast, gardener, photographer, writer, hiker, dreamer, and lover of all things sustainable, wild, and free. Ariana strives to bring people closer to their true source, Mother Nature. She graduated The Evergreen State College with an undergraduate degree focusing on Sustainable Design and Environmental Science.